Zone 2 Crime Rate Down, NPU-C Told

Police Zone 2 crime is down 10 percent this year, and an increase in officers writing traffic tickets is a key factor in the decrease, an officer told NPU-C Tuesday night.

Zone 2 officers are writing 600 to 700 traffic tickets a week, and motorcycle officers nearly 800, Capt. Tim Ewing said. This is having an effect on the lower crime rate, because criminals are avoiding Buckhead and other parts of Zone 2 so they won't receive a ticket.

"Folks know they can't come to Buckhead and ride dirty," Ewing said. The writing of tickets is "trickling down to a lot of other things," he said.

While "we've been down consistently since the first of the year" in crime, auto break-ins remain a problem, along with shoplifting at the WalMart at 1801 Howell Mill Road and Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza, he said.

In regard to the planned expansion of Zone 2 to take in the Morningside and Cheshire Bridge Road areas, he said the move is expected take place in late August or early September unless "budget constraints" bring a delay.

NPU-C members also heard about Atlanta's Street Food Movement from Mark Lindenbaum, part of a group planning to start a food-truck operation on a vacant lot off Howell Mill Road.

Lindenbaum said that under the concept, food trucks from restaurants like Souper Jenny would set up at a vacant lot at Beck and Emery streets, behind the Willy's at 1920 Howell Mill Road. He said from six to 10 restaurant trucks would sell food at the site, starting one day a week. If the business gains popularity, it could become a daily operation, he said.

"It will be Atlanta's first dedicated food-truck lot," he said. The group can "get it off the ground within the next month," he added.

The Atlanta Street Food Coalition, an organization behind the street food movement, is working with District 8 City Council member Yolanda Adrean on regulating food trucks, which Lindenbaum said have become popular in other cities such as Portland, Ore.

"A lot more food trucks are popping up," he said.

In response to a question from NPU-C member Roger Moister, Lindenbaum said that the trucks that use the food park site will have to receive city permits and be part of the Atlanta Food Coalition. He said that all health issues such as inspections would be the responsibility of the individual restaurants running the trucks.

On a personal note, NPU Chairman Paul Melvin praised city Watershed Management crews for their work in repairing a major water main break that caused flooding and the loss of water April 25 on Northside Parkway. Melvin, who lives in the area, said that despite a storm that brought heavy lightning, the crews worked all night to repair the damage and restore service.